Self-lifting crane

ABSTRACT

A self-lifting crane adapted to raise or lower itself to different levels of any building or horizontal structural members of the building said crane including a frame having four lower outriggers and four upper outriggers which can be retracted and extended by hydraulic cylinders to selectively support the crane on horizontal structural members of a building and four lift outriggers which can be retracted and extended by hydraulic cylinders to selectively support the crane on horizontal structural members of a building; said lift outriggers being mounted in a support structure which can be moved up or down by hydraulic jacks to raise or lower the crane through the use of four positive displacement pumps; said crane including in its hydraulic system trim valving to supply to any one or more of said hydraulic jacks additional fluid to maintain the level of the crane.

0 Un ted States Patent [151 3,656,631 Rauch et al. [45] Apr. 18,1972

s41 SELF-LIFTING CRANE FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Inventors: GeraldB. Ranch Cypress; wade Bridges Torrance, both of Calif.

Primary Examiner-Even C. Blunk [73] Asslgnee: Hydro Tower AssistantExaminer-Merle F. Mafiei [22] Filed: Mar. 25, 1970 Attorney-Noel G.Conway [21] Appl. No.: 22,590 57 I ABSTRACT A self-lifting crane adaptedto raise or lower itself to different [52] US. Cl ..2l2/57, 182/ 141,212/64 levels f any building or horizontal structural members of the [5l] '1 23/ building said crane including a frame having four loweroutrig- [58] Field of Search ..l87/9, 212/57, 64, 182/141, gets and fourupper Outriggers which can be retracted and 1 60/52 R tended byhydraulic cylindersto selectively support the crane 56 R t Cited onhorizontal structural members of a building and four lift 1 e erencesOutriggers which can be retracted and extended by hydraulic UNITEDSTATES PATENTS cylinders to selectively support the crane on horizontalstructural members of a building; said l|ft Outriggers being mountedHenry "I. R in a upport structure which can be moved up o down 3,516,5136/ 1970 Robtfnson et 141 hydraulic jacks to raise or lower the cranethrough the use of 3,464,169 9/1969 P0131" 212/57 four positivedisplacement pumps; said crane including in its 3:536'161 10/1970 Clarke"187/9 X hydraulic system trim valving to supply to any one or more of3,207,263 9/ 1965 "212/64 X said hydraulic jacks additional fluid tomaintain the level of the crane.

10 Claims, 12 Drawing Figures l l l 32 I :2

PATENTED R 18 I972 3, 656,631

SHEET 1 OF 3 v INVENTORS. Gama: 5. E40 BY MP6 .Be/pg'ss PATENTEDAPRIBHYE3,656,681

SHEET 2 UF 3 FIGA FIGJ' r- INVENTORS. 40944 .8. 2400/ Y We: 32/0925SELF-LIFIING CRANE This invention relates to self-lifting cranes, andmore particularly to such cranes which have the capability ofaccomplishing the self-lifting operation solely through the use ofcontrols in the cab of the crane.

In the construction of building, there is fabricated the skeleton of thebuilding consisting of I beam columns and horizontal support structuralmembers. These structural members are quite often formed in the buildingwith the columns being spaced to 28 feet apart. And, horizontal steel Ibeams extend between the columns and serve to support the floorstructure of the building.

In such construction, the second floor is constructed, then the thirdfloor, and so on. In such construction, there is the necessity thatthere be provided some sort of a powered crane in order to lift thebuilding materials to the top of the structure to add additional floorsto the building as the construction progresses. A crane embodying theprinciples of the present invention is able to raise the structuralmembers in order to construct an upper floor. And then, the crane isable to lift itself up to the level of that upper floor. Thereafter,additional structural beams and members are raised in order that theskeleton for the next higher floor can be added.

Briefly, cranes embodying the present invention will include a framehaving outriggers which can be extended and retracted as desired. Theframe on which these outriggers are carried is sized so that it canaccommodate the normal bay of such buildings-normally 20 through 28feet. In such case, the outriggers can be extended to a position wherethey engage and are supported by horizontal structural members of thebuilding skeleton. And-when desired-the outriggers can be retracted topermit the crane and its supporting frame to be moved upwardly ordownwardly in the particular bay of the building.

Additionally, cranes embodying the present invention will incorporatelifting outriggers which not only have the capability of being retractedor extended as mentioned above, but have the capability of being raisedor lowered a distance somewhat greater than the normal vertical distancebetween horizontal structuralmembers of a building. With thiscombination, the crane can be walked either upwardly as the. structureis being constructed, or downwardly-after the construction has beencompleted.

Cranes. embodying the present invention also incorporate the ability tobe rolled from one bay of the skeleton to another as desired.

Self-lifting cranes have been provided in the past; however, they havehad the disadvantages of expense in manufacture; and more importantly,they are much more difficult, and therefore slow, to use than cranesembodying the present invention.

With the foregoing in mind, it is a major object of this invention toprovide an improved self-lifting crane.

It is another object of this invention to provide a self-lifting cranewhich has the capability of being operated solely from the cab of thecrane.

A further object of this invention is to provide a self-lifting cranewhich is susceptible to being economically produced.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a selfliftingcrane which is able to use a hydraulic actuating system and yet maintainthe level of the crane despite unbalanced loading of the crane duringthe lifting operation.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a self liftingcrane which can beeasily used. I

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a selfliftingcrane which can be constructed economically and operated with a minimumof maintenance.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a self-liftingcrane which can be easily moved from one portion of the job to another.

Other and further objects of this invention will become apparent in thedetailed description below in conjunction with the attached drawingswherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an elevating apparatus embodying thepresent invention;

I FIG. 2 is an enlargedfragmentary cross sectional view of a portion ofthe lifting outrigger subassembly taken along line 2-2 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary cross sectional view of a portion ofthe lifting outrigger subassembly, taken along line 3-=3 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the elevating apparatus disclosed in FIG. I; I

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of a lifting outrigger taken along line5-5 in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view disclosing details of the mannerin which the lifting outrigger functions;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross sectional view of a lifting outrigger, takenalong line 7-7 in FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary cross sectional view disclosing themanner in which the hydraulic cylinder is connectedto the liftingoutrigger, taken along line 8-8 in FIG. 5;

FIG. 9 is a side elevation view of a crane embodying the presentinvention with the elevating apparatus supporting the crane on thehorizontal structural members of a building;

FIG. 10 is a similar view of said apparatus with the crane in anintermediate position during the lifting operation;

FIG. 11 is a similar view with the crane in its position at thecompletion of the raising operation but before the lifting outriggersare raised relative to the crane to the retracted position of the jacksof the apparatus; and,

.FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a preferred form of a hydraulic systemincorporating the present invention.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a preferred embodiment of the elevatingapparatus of the present invention will be described. For ease ofillustration, as the present elevating apparatus can be used withdifferent types of cranes, the crane has not been included in the FIGS.1 to 8.

The frame 10 includes left upper outriggers l2 and right upperoutriggers 13 which are spaced above left lower outriggers l5 and rightlower outriggers 16 by distance approximately equal to the normal levelbetween two floors of a building. As will be described in further detailbelow, these outriggers l2, 13, 15, and 16 have the capability of beingextended to a position where they can engage. and receive support fromhorizontal structural members of a building being constructed, and alsobe retracted to a point where they do not engage such structuralelements. As will be, developed further below, the outriggers l2, l3,l5, and 16 must be selectively moved between the extended and retractedposition in the process of elevating or lowering the crane.

The elevating apparatus also includes left lifting outriggers l8 andright lifting outriggers 19 which can be selectively retracted andextended as in the case of the outriggers l2, I3, 15, and 16. Thesubassemblies for the lifting outriggers l8 and 19 have the additionalfeature that they are so constructed that theycan be raised and loweredrelative to the frame 10 a distance slightly greater than the distancebetween the upper outriggers l2 and 13 and the lower outriggers l5 and16. The function of this movement will be described further below.However, at this time it should be noted that this vertical movement ofthe lifting outriggers l8 and 19 is accomplished through the use ofhydraulic jacks 21 and 22 respectively.

As seen best in FIGS. 1 and 4, the frame 10 preferably includes ananchor plate 24 to which a crane of the desired type is secured to theelevating apparatus. Such crane would be located on the anchor plate 24with the center of rotation of the crane being centered on the verticalcentral axis of the frame 10, which vertical axis is indicated by centerline 25.

At its upper end, the frame 10 includes support structure for the leftupper outriggers 12 in the fonn of a box beam support 27 while a boxbeam support 28 functions to give proper support to right upperoutriggers 13. The upper part of the frame 0 10 also includes uppercross beams 30 with upper cross ties 31 functioning to provide rigidityto the frame 10.

As in the case of the box beams 27 and 28, box beams support 33 and 34respectively serve to provide support structure for the left outriggersl5 and the right lower outriggers 16. And, lower cross beams 36 serve torigidify the frame 10.

As the outriggers 12 and 13 must be spaced above the outriggers 15 and16, there are provided columns 38 at the four corners of the frame 10.And, cross ties 39 function to make the frame very rigid.

Self-elevating cranes incorporating the present invention can be mademore useful if they can be moved easily from one bay to another bay inthe building which is being constructed. To this end, there are providedat the lower end of the frame four wheels 40 on the supports 33 and 34.The manner in which they are use will be described further below.

As mentioned previously, the lifting outriggers 18 and 19 must be movedin the vertical direction in order to accomplish the self-elevatingfunction of the apparatus. Referring now to FIGS. 1 to 4, details of apreferred subassembly including the lifting outriggers 19 will bedescribed in detail. Preferably the means for mounting the subassemblyinclude a pair of spaced vertical tracks 42 formed by a pair of verticall beams which are fixed to the frame 10 by means such as being welded tothe outrigger supports 28 and 34. Right lifting outrigger support 44preferably comprises a box beam receiving the lifting outriggers 19therein. And, the support 44 carries a set of four rollers 45 each ofwhich is rotatably mounted on the outrigger support by means of a plate47. As can best be seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, the rollers 45 are positionedto ride in the channel formed on either side of web 48 of the I beam 42.Further, the rollers -45 are shaped so as to be complimentary to thesurface of the beams associated flange 49 in order to more effectivelydistribute the loads involved. That is, each of the rollers 45 istapered toward the web 48.

As can be seen, the rollers 45 function to securely constrain themovement of the support 44 to the tracks 42. Preferably, some means isalso provided in order to allow the apparatus to accommodate the forcesparallel to the support 44. To this end, there is preferably provided abent portion 50 on each of the plates 47, which portion has rotatablymounted thereon a roller 51 which rides along the web 48 of theparticular track 42 to give the desired support. (See FIGS. 2 and 3 inparticular.)

An important aspect of the present invention is that the variousoutriggers 12, 13, l5, l6, l8, and 19 can be extended by the craneoperator without leaving his cab. Referring now to FIGS. 5, 7, and 8,details of a preferred manner of accomplishing this will be described inconnection with the lifting outriggers 19 and their associated outriggersupport 44. As can be seen, the means for retracting and extending theoutriggers 19 preferably includes a pair of double acting cylinders 57having their cylinder ends fixed to the support 44 through the use of abolt 58 extending through an eye member connecting the cylinders. Eachof the cylinders 57 has its piston end 59 connected to an appropriatelyplaced tab 60 which is fixed to the web of a respective outrigger 19.With this arrangement, by proper supplying of hydraulic fluid to thecylinders 57, the outriggers can be moved between the retracted positionshown in FIG. 5 and an extended position such as shown in FIG. 6. Thehydraulic controls and system will be described in further detail below.

It will be noted that the structure disclosed in FIG. 5 lends itself toeconomical construction. Not only are the structural components readilyavailable components, e.g., cylinders, box beams, and l beams. Further,the cylinders 57 can be secured between the outriggers 19 while thesecomponents are outside the box beam 44. Then, the assembly need merelybe slid into the position disclosed in FIG. 5. And, at that time, thebolt 58 is merely slid into place in order to lock the outriggers 19 inoperative position.

The jacks 22 serve to raise and lower the support 44 and the outriggers19 between the upper and lower position of the lifting outriggers. Asbest seen in FIGS. 6 and 9 to 11, the jacks 22 have a series oftelescoping ram sections 52 in order to minimize the required length ofthe jack when it is in the retracted position. Also, the lowermost endof the lowermost ram section 52 is connected to the support 44 by meansof clevis plates 53.

The jacks 22 are the double-acting type. That is, each jack 22 isdesigned such that pressurized hydraulic fluid can force the ramsections into the extended position shown in FIG. 6, and alternatively,pressurized hydraulic fluid can retract the ram sections 52 from theextended position shown in FIG. 6 to the retracted position shown inFIG. 1. The purpose of this function will be described in further detailbelow.

As in the case of the lifting outriggers 19, there is a subassembly forthe left lifting outriggers 18 including an outrigger support 54 havingrollers 55 rotatably mounted thereon and riding in vertical tracks 56.Rollers 56a (see FIG. 4) perform the same function as the rollers 51.

It can be seen that the apparatus lends itself to economicalconstruction. All of the elements involved, (e.g., lifting outriggers 19which are made out of I beams) are made of readily available commercialstructural members.

The outriggers 12, 13, 15, 16, and 18 and the manner in which they areextended and retracted are preferably constructed in the same manner asthe outriggers 19. Therefore, such construction is not shown in detail.

As mentioned previously, the wheels 40 serve to facilitate moving theassembly from one bay of a building to another bay. It has been foundthat it is also desirable to have wheels on the lifting outriggersupports 44 and 54 for this same purpose. To this end, there areprovided wheels 61 on the outrigger support 44, and there are similarwheels (not shown) on the underside of the outrigger support 54.

Referring now to FIGS. 9 and 10, the mode of operation of the elevationassembly will be described in further detail. In these figures, there isillustrated a typical crane having a cab 66 with a boom 67 extendingupwardly and to one side. The crane includes mechanism which will hoistand lower weights on a hook 68. The crane is arranged on the elevatingapparatus so that the crane will rotate 360 around the center line 25 ofthe frame 10. Therefore, the boom 67 can be extended in any direction.

For purposes of illustrating the manner of operation of the apparatus,there is disclosed in FIGS. 9 to 11, structural members of a building.The illustrative building structural members comprise columns 70 whichare spaced apart approximately 20 to 28 feet to form bays between thecolumns (see FIG. 4 also). The structural members also includehorizontal structural members at the elevation of each floor of thebuilding as those floors are to be supported by such horizontalstructural members. In the drawings, these horizontal structural membersinclude lower horizontal structural members 71, intermediate horizontalstructural members 72, and upper horizontal structural members 73.Extending at a right angle to the horizontal structural members 71, 72,and 73 are other horizontal structural members 74.

In use, the self-elevating crane lifts itself from one level in thebuilding to the next level in the manner illustrated in FIGS. 9 to 11.Referring now to FIG. 9, the assembly is shown with the lower outriggers16 engaging and resting upon the lower horizontal structural members 71.In such case, the outriggers 15 would also be extended as the outriggers16; however, the outriggers 15 cannot be seen in FIGS. 9 to 11. Also,the upper outriggers l2 and 13 could be extended at this time and theresting upon and engaging the intermediate horizontal structural members72.

The first step in the lifting operation would be to extend the liftingoutriggers 18 and 19 if the same are not already extended. Then thejacks 21 and 22 lift the crane slightly to lift the upper outriggers 12and 13 and the lower outriggers 15 and 16 from the horizontal structuralmembers 71 and 72. The next step would be to retract the upperoutriggers 12 and 13 and the lower outriggers 15 and 16 to the retractedposition shown in FIG. 10 where they can pass between adjacenthorizontal structural members 71, 72, or 73.

At that time, the jacks 21 and 22 further extend the ram sections 52 tolift the crane through the intermediate position shown in FIG. 10 to aposition slightly above the position shown in FIG. 11. At that time, theoperator extends the upper outriggers 12 and 13 and the lower outriggers15 and 16. Then, the operator retrects the jacks 21 and 22 to lower thecrane to the position shown in FIG. 11 where the upper outriggers 12 and13 and the lower outriggers 15 and 16 engage and rest upon thehorizontal structural members 73 and 72 respectively.

As can be seen, the lifting operation can be accomplished even thoughthe lower outriggers 15 and 16 were not provided. However, it ispreferred that the upper outriggers 12 and 13 and the lower outriggers15 and 16 are provided and also are extended during the normal operationof the cranealong with the lifting outriggers 18 and 19. By this means,the loads on the crane can be distributed most widely to the horizontalstructural members of the building, e.g., horizontal structural members71, and 72, or 72 and 73.

As mentioned previously, the wheels 40 and 61 are provided on theundersides of the supports 33, 34, 44, and 54 in order to facilitatemoving the crane from one bay to another. As illustrated in FIG. 10,removable rails 76 could be positioned across the lower horizontalstructural members 71 (the rail on the far side cannot be seen). Theserails are positioned so that they are in vertical alignment with thewheels 40 on the supports 33 and 34. Then, the crane is lowered to aposition where the wheels 40 rest upon the rails 76 and support thecrane. In such case, some horizontal structural members 72 and 73 wouldhave to be removed in order to allow the crane to be rolled along therails 76 to another bay.

Alternatively, the rails on which the crane is moved laterally could beplaced in line with the wheels 61 on the lifting outrigger supports 44and 54. For example, assuming in FIG. 11 that the upper horizontalstructural members 73 were not in place (in which case the upperoutriggers 12 and 13 would not have anything upon which to rest), thelower outriggers 15 and 16 could support the crane while the liftingoutriggers l8 and 19 are raised two or three feet. Then, rails such asthe rails 76 in FIG. could be laid across the immediate horizontalstructural members 72 at positions below the wheels 61. Then, the jacks21 and 22 could be extended to cause the wheels 61 to engage the rails;and, further downward extension of the jacks causes the crane to liftitself to a position where the wheels 40 will clear the horizontalstructural members 72 during the lateral movement of the crane. Then,when the crane is in a new bay, the crane can be lowered with the loweroutriggers and 16 extended to transfer the weight off of the wheels 61and back onto the lower outriggers. Then, the rails could be removed.

Referring now to FIG. 12, a preferred form of the hydraulic system usedin the present invention, will not be described. The hydraulic systemincludes a reservoir 80 of hydraulic fluid. A motor 8l drives fourganged positive displacement pumps P1, P2, P3, and P4 when desiredthrough a clutch 82. The output of the pumps .Pl-P4 are fed in parallelto four main valves 83 which are ganged together and operated by asingle main control 84 as illustrated. Further, each of said outputlines of the pumps Pl-P4 are connected through its separate one-waycheck valve 85 to a common pressure relief valve 86 in return line 87.Thus, when the main valves 83 are closed, the hydraulic fluid is merelypumped back into the reservoir 80 through the pressure relief valve86thereby avoiding the danger of ruining the motor 81, clutch 82, and/orpumps Pl-P4. However, when the main valves 83 are opened there is asupply of hydraulic fluid at the pressure which is limited by thepressure relief valve 86.

From the main valves 83, each of the output lines feeds into a separateram four-way valve 88, which four-way valves are ganged together to beoperated by a single direction control 89 as illustrated.

As mentioned above, the jacks 21 and 22 are preferably of the type whichhave telescoping rams. However, as such jacks are difficult to show incross section, and since the idea can be more easily seen with a simpleroperating cylinder, there is shown in FIG. 12 jacks 91 which correspondto the jacks 21 and jacks 92 which correspond to the jacks 22. Each ofthe jacks 91 and 92 has a simplified ram 93 which is equivalent to theram sections 52 of the jacks 21 and 22.

With the hydraulic system thus described, the direction control89 can bepositioned so that pressurized hydraulic fluid from the pumps P1-P4 willextend the rams 93 while hydraulic fluid is returned to the reservoirthrough return line 94. Conversely, the rams 93 can be moved to theretracted position by mere rotation of the ram four-way valves 88through direction control 89.

It is important to note that the pumps Pl-P4 are positive displacementpumps. This is because it is desired that each of the pumps P1-P4 putout the same volume of pressurized hydraulic fluid although the pressurein the respective jacks 91 and 92 may be different because of unequalloading on the four jacks. Practically speaking, the load of the craneon each of the four jacks will never be the same. It should be notedthat the check valves prevent fluid from one of the pumps Pl-P4 beingdiverted into the jack supplied by another of said pumps P1-P4.Therefore, there can be a higher pressure in the supply line of onejack.

Even though the four pumps P1-P4 are positive displacement pumps, thereis the problem that unequal amounts of hydraulic fluid may be suppliedto the different jacks 91 and 92. Most commonly, this is caused byleakage. Because of such problem, there must be provided means to trimthe system in order to keep the frame 10 in proper orientation. To thisend, there is provided an additional motor 96 which drives pump 97having its output connected back to the reservoir 80 through a pressurerelief valve 98. The pressure relief valve 98 is set at a somewhathigher pressure than the pressure relief valve 86. Further, the outputof the pump 97 is connected through four separate valves 99 into thefour separate input lines of the four jacks 91 and 92. With thisassembly, additional hydraulic fluid can be supplied to any selectedjacks 91 and 92 by individual manipulation of a proper valve 99. As thepressure relief valve 98 is set at a higher pressure than pressurerelief valve 86, additional fluid will be supplied into a selected linewhen a particular valve 99 is opened.

The manner in which the various outriggers 12, 13, 15, 16, 18, and 19will now be described. In FIG. 12, it can be seen that the output of thepump 97 is also connected to three separately operable four-way valves101, 102, and 103. The four-way valve 101 operates the lower outriggers15 and 16, the valve 102 operates the upper outriggers l2 and 13, andthe valve 103 operates the lifting outriggers 18 and 19. However, asonly the details of lifting outriggers 19 were disclosed above,different numbers are used for the corresponding elements in FIG. 12.More particularly, two-way cylinders 105 are schematically shown witheach having its respective ram or piston 106. The cylinders 105 couldoperate, e.g., the outriggers 16. In order to operate the outriggers 15,an additional two cylinders would be provided and supplied with pressurethrough hydraulic lines 107. As those cylinders would be the same ascylinders 105, they are not shown.

As in the case of the cylinders 105, upper outrigger cylinders 108 couldfunction through their rams 109 to extend and retract the upperoutriggers 13. Further, upper outriggers 12 would be operated bycylinders (not shown) which are the same as the cylinders 108, whichcylinders would receive hydraulic fluid through lines 110. And,cylinders 111 would operate the lift outriggers 18 through lines 113 tocylinders 57 (not shown in FIG. 12) to extend and retract the liftingoutriggers 19.

As the crane also requires pressurized hydraulic fluid to actuate theboom 67, an additional pump 115 is driven by the motor 81 to supply suchpressurized fluid.

Although only a few embodiments of the present invention have been shownand described in detail, it will be apparent to those skilled in the artthat such is by way of illustration and numerous changes may be madethereto without departing from the spirit of the present invention.Accordingly, it is our intention that the invention be limited solely bythe appended claims.

We claim:

1. In a self-lifting crane having a frame adapted to raise or a frame;

upper outriggers mounted at the same level on said frame, each of saidupper outriggers being horizontally movable between a retracted positionwhere it is not adapted to engage and rest upon a building horizontalstructural member adjacent the frame and an extended position where itis adapted to engage and rest upon such a horizontal structural member;

lifting outriggers carried on said frame, each of said liftingoutriggers being horizontally movable between a retracted position whereit is not adapted to engage and rest upon a building horizontalstructural member and an extended position where it is adapted to engageand rest upon such horizontal structural member;

mounting means connected between said frame and said lifting outriggersmounting said lifting outriggers for movement between an upper positionslightly above the level of said upper outriggers and a lower positionsubstantially below the level of said upper outriggers; and

power means for moving said lifting outriggers between said upper andlower positions.

2. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 wherein said power meanscomprises:

means comprises:

a source of hydraulic fluid at a pressure somewhat higher than thepressure supplied by said power means; and

a separate valve connecting each of said hydraulic jacks with saidhigher pressure fluid, whereby additional amounts of hydraulic fluid maybe selectively added to any hydraulic jack to level the frame.

4. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 wherein said upper outriggerscomprise:

a left and a right outrigger subassembly, each of said subassembliescomprising: a first and a second outrigger; an outrigger supportcomprising a box beam connected to said frame and supporting said firstand second outriggers for horizontal movement along the same path, saidfirst and second outriggers being slidably received within said boxbeam; and subassembly power means connected to each of said first andsecond outriggers and said support for selectively moving said first andsecond outriggers in opposite directions from their respective retractedpositions to their respective extended positions and vice versa, saidsubassembly power means comprising: double action cylinders connectedbetween the box beam and the beam for moving said beam between itsretracted position where the beam is substantially entirely within thebox beam and its extended position where the beam projects well beyondthe end of 65 the box beam. 5. In a self-lifting crane having a frame,and being adapted to raise or lower itself to different levels in abuilding on horizontal structural members of the building, which membersare adjacent the frame:

a frame; upper outriggers mounted at the same level on said frame, eachof said upper outriggers being horizontally movable between a retractedposition where it is not adapted to engage and rest upon a buildinghorizontal structural member adjacent the frame and an extended positionwhere it is adapted to. engage and rest upon such a horizontalstructural member;

lifting outriggers carried on said frame, each of said liftingoutriggers being horizontally movable between a retracted position whereit is not adapted to engage and rest upon a building horizontalstructural member and an extended position where it is adapted to engageand rest upon such horizontal structural member, said lifting outriggerscomprising: left and right lifting outriggers subassemblies, each ofsaid lifting subassemblies comprising: a first and a second outrigger;an outrigger support supporting each of said first and second outriggerfor horizontal movement along the same path;

mounting means connected between said frame and said lifting outriggersmounting said lifting outriggers for movement between an upper positionslightly above the level of said upper outriggers and a lower positionsubstantially below the level of said upper position said mounting meansfor each outrigger subassembly comprising:

at least one vertical track rigidly attached to said frame;

and wheels on said outriggers support riding in said venical track; and

power means for moving said lifting outriggers between said upper andlower positions.

6. The apparatus set forth in claim 5 wherein:

said vertical track is a vertical I beam and said wheels ride in thechannel on opposite sides of the web portion of the vertical 1 beam.

7. The apparatus set forth in claim 6 wherein at least two of saidwheels are on each side of the vertical track, one of said lastmentioned two wheels engaging and riding on the web of said I beamtrack, the other of said last mentioned two wheels on each side of thevertical track is engaging and riding on one of the flanges of said Ibeam vertical track.

8. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 including:

lower outriggers mounted at the same level on said frame,

each of said lower outriggers being horizontally movable between aretracted position where it is not adapted to engage and rest upon abuilding horizontal structural member adjacent said frame and anextended position where it is adapted to engage and rest upon such ahorizontal structural member.

9. The apparatus set forth in claim 7 wherein:

said lower position of said lifting outriggers is slightly below thelevel of said lower outriggers.

10. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 including:

wheel mounted on said mounting means, said wheels depending below saidsupport and being adapted to engage and receive support from a railplaced below said mounting means, whereby a pair of rails can be placedbelow the wheels on said mounting means and the weight of the crane canbe transferred to said wheels by forcing said lifting outrigger supportsdownwardly relative to said frame.

l= IQ

1. In a self-lifting crane having a frame adapted to raise or lower itself to different levels in a building on horizontal structural members of the building, which members are adjacent the frame: a frame; upper outriggers mounted at the same level on said frame, each of said upper outriggers being horizontally movable between a retracted position where it is not adapted to engage and rest upon a building horizontal structural member adjacent the frame and an extended position where it is adapted to engage and rest upon such a horizontal structural member; lifting outriggers carried on said frame, each of said lifting outriggers being horizontally movable between a retracted position where it is not adapted to engage and rest upon a building horizontal structural member and an extended position where it is adapted to engage and rest upon such horizontal structural member; mounting means connected between said frame and said lifting outriggers moUnting said lifting outriggers for movement between an upper position slightly above the level of said upper outriggers and a lower position substantially below the level of said upper outriggers; and power means for moving said lifting outriggers between said upper and lower positions.
 2. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 wherein said power means comprises: a plurality of hydraulic jacks having extensible rams which may force the lifting outriggers up and sown when the rams are retracted and extended; fluid pump means connected to each of said hydraulic jacks for selectively extending or retracting the rams by supplying pressurized hydraulic fluid to said rams; and trim means for selectively supplying to any one or more of said hydraulic jacks additional hydraulic fluid to level said frame.
 3. The apparatus set forth in claim 2 wherein said trim means comprises: a source of hydraulic fluid at a pressure somewhat higher than the pressure supplied by said power means; and a separate valve connecting each of said hydraulic jacks with said higher pressure fluid, whereby additional amounts of hydraulic fluid may be selectively added to any hydraulic jack to level the frame.
 4. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 wherein said upper outriggers comprise: a left and a right outrigger subassembly, each of said subassemblies comprising: a first and a second outrigger; an outrigger support comprising a box beam connected to said frame and supporting said first and second outriggers for horizontal movement along the same path, said first and second outriggers being slidably received within said box beam; and subassembly power means connected to each of said first and second outriggers and said support for selectively moving said first and second outriggers in opposite directions from their respective retracted positions to their respective extended positions and vice versa, said subassembly power means comprising: double action cylinders connected between the box beam and the beam for moving said beam between its retracted position where the beam is substantially entirely within the box beam and its extended position where the beam projects well beyond the end of the box beam.
 5. In a self-lifting crane having a frame, and being adapted to raise or lower itself to different levels in a building on horizontal structural members of the building, which members are adjacent the frame: a frame; upper outriggers mounted at the same level on said frame, each of said upper outriggers being horizontally movable between a retracted position where it is not adapted to engage and rest upon a building horizontal structural member adjacent the frame and an extended position where it is adapted to engage and rest upon such a horizontal structural member; lifting outriggers carried on said frame, each of said lifting outriggers being horizontally movable between a retracted position where it is not adapted to engage and rest upon a building horizontal structural member and an extended position where it is adapted to engage and rest upon such horizontal structural member, said lifting outriggers comprising: left and right lifting outrigger subassemblies, each of said lifting subassemblies comprising: a first and a second outrigger; an outrigger support supporting each of said first and second outrigger for horizontal movement along the same path; mounting means connected between said frame and said lifting outriggers mounting said lifting outriggers for movement between an upper position slightly above the level of said upper outriggers and a lower position substantially below the level of said upper position said mounting means for each outrigger subassembly comprising: at least one vertical track rigidly attached to said frame; and wheels on said outrigger support riding in said vertical track; and power means for moving said lifting outriggers between said upper and lower positioNs.
 6. The apparatus set forth in claim 5 wherein: said vertical track is a vertical I beam and said wheels ride in the channel on opposite sides of the web portion of the vertical I beam.
 7. The apparatus set forth in claim 6 wherein at least two of said wheels are on each side of the vertical track, one of said last mentioned two wheels engaging and riding on the web of said I beam track, the other of said last mentioned two wheels on each side of the vertical track is engaging and riding on one of the flanges of said I beam vertical track.
 8. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 including: lower outriggers mounted at the same level on said frame, each of said lower outriggers being horizontally movable between a retracted position where it is not adapted to engage and rest upon a building horizontal structural member adjacent said frame and an extended position where it is adapted to engage and rest upon such a horizontal structural member.
 9. The apparatus set forth in claim 7 wherein: said lower position of said lifting outriggers is slightly below the level of said lower outriggers.
 10. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 including: wheel mounted on said mounting means, said wheels depending below said support and being adapted to engage and receive support from a rail placed below said mounting means, whereby a pair of rails can be placed below the wheels on said mounting means and the weight of the crane can be transferred to said wheels by forcing said lifting outrigger supports downwardly relative to said frame. 